The time we took our Friends ... and had to postpone

[catherines_mama]

I hear Jodi benson is the celebrity guest that week. Very cool. We will be there the same time just different schedules at the parks. By chance, did you see that they changed EMH's?

I saw a lot of EMH changes but didn't notice they affected that 1st week of Dec. I'll have to do some more research!

Okay. We don't arrive until 11/29 and start going to parks the 1st. We will be at CP (hopefully) 12/4 so we don't have a narrator YET. Jodi is before is and Whoopi is after us.

Waiting.....

 

[catherines_mama]

Life update: we've been super busy the past few weeks. DS12 is in his final yr of little league (aged out). He was invited to play all-star which we didn't expect as we joined a new league this year due to some corrupt "daddy ball" at our previous league.

His all-star team has made it to State and we are there now. They made it to the Finals which play tonight. No matter what they are either Champs or Runner up which has gotten them invites to SE Regionals (Cal Ripkin).

We are so excited for them but Oy this complicates life LOL. Wow the boys played great and truly fought to get here. We used a lot of our pitching so we have to battle to win tonight but we'll see!

 

[catherines_mama]

Wow things are going crazy around here. Busy summer. Am I the only mom who prefers the school year to the summer time. Not just that the kids are IN SCHOOL but things are just so much less stressful. I swear.

Jack and Emma are in FL for their month with their mother. Emma went down a week before Jack as his team went all the way to SE Regionals (in VA). He flew down on Monday. That was exciting! He flew once when he was 5. And this was his next time to fly and he was ALONE!!! He did great!

Tina and Dan and Josh are on their way to Cooperstown (yes Baseball Hall of Fame). Josh's baseball team is playing a huge tournament there - so exciting. They've been cutting corners and saving money for this all year. Little does Josh know that as soon as this is done, it doesn't change because DISNEY savings then starts. LOL

We got our CP Dinner Package we wanted! Rose & Crown for dinner and the 8:15 show. It was 8:10AM when I called the day it opened. We were in Raleigh at a baseball tournament and that's when I was free to call. There weren't many options left. Still waiting for our narrator to be announced.

Getting excited!!!

 

[catherines_mama]

Sad day ... we have decided to postpone our trip.

It is all for the best. Nothing horrible. Tina's dad's health is great, it's just with DH being out of work this summer for some time, we didn't recover as well as we should have.

We will take more time to save and go... IN JUNE!

Which allows for a TOTALLY different trip. So instead of CHRISTMAS at Disney we now get to plan a Water Park day.

I also get to decide where do we want to stay.

AKV is still the top choice b/c of 3 bathrooms. At this point we will have
DD - 14
DS - 13
Josh - 13
DD - 10
AND 4 Adults

But we'll be going AS SOON as school gets out so we will have to fork more pts for AKV. IF we want Savannah view, which if we are going to be all the way out at AKV - why wouldn't you get Savannah view. It will also mean more pool time and more resort time so which where to take a bunch of teens?

Right now we have a 2 Bdrm at our home resort SSR but of course we only have 2 Bathrooms with that.

I will see what 7 month window looks like but It will keep me up right around the 7 month mark.

Oh well.. next stop - POSSIBLE RESORT CHANGE WINDOW @ 7 MOS.

 

[catherines_mama]

Hello... Is there anybody out there?

Thought is check in since we just passed 6 mos!! Yay! On Tuesday I got to make our dining reservations. I almost cried doing them. Things are so questionable with Tina and family we decided to just not tell the kids until it's time. So I get up Tuesday, get a shower and log in at 6:30. Online reservations opens at 6am ET. I link my DVC reservation, it finds it - cool.

I search my 1st request, Cape May. Find a table at 7:30am - Perfect!! I click it then get a red error "we cannot find any tables for your timeframe" omg. Try Ohanas same deal find a table/time click it - error. 50s same thing. So now.. I have to call and by now mY KIDS ARE UP!!! It's 7 and I got right through. She asks me how many, I run in the coat closet "8". How many children "4"... And so on. Yikes! I wanted to cry. I do not want my kids to find out!

At 7 months I had no issue moving our reservation to AKV Kidani. I had to buy 3 OTU points but that was it.

The night after Thanksgiving we got together with Dan Tina Josh for dinner and we were talking how we should be at Disney. But we were relieved we weren't. Tina's dad isn't doing well right now. And she herself was only 6 wks post op from something so it just wasn't a good time. Very funny how things work out.

If you noticed the kids ages. Cat is 13 8th grade Jack is 13 7th grade Josh is 13 8th grade. Catherine and Josh were "sweet on eachother" in 6th grade". That lasted 6 mos, and it was cute. Being best friends. We understood how innocent it was and were always on the same page. They were just friends but they liked eachother a little more than their other friends and at that age where they don't know what that means yet. Then Josh just had to be a boy and was silly again and they've been frenemies ever since. When we planned this they were frenemies.

They are now back to being FRIENDS. We are on thin ice making sure it stays right there as they don't want to be "going out". That's the last thing we need this summer. Either 2 twitter-patted teenagers OR 2 broken hearted enemies. We have both said to them. Awww look you are friends again, let's stay there in the friend-zone. That's a nice place. . LOL
Teenagers!!!

 

[ToddyLu]

I am reading along with you. Our last trip was in Oct and our last day 11/1. We have points at AKV and are planning on a return visit with my parents in May. We decided on the Oct tip that after May we are not going back til fall of 2016. DH asked me if I thought I could "do it" waiting for the construction to clear...and there is a lot of construction going on. Well this morning he caught me on the website looking at the calendar and I confessed. I don't know if I can stay away from Disney for a year and a half..

I am planning a big trip in the fall of 2016. DH's baby brother is getting his doctorate in engineering and is writing a textbook (due in March 2015) so the fall 2016 trip is celebrating an end to school for him. He has not been able to make a trip with us since 2013 or so....he states at the end of all this he will need a "disney trip". DH will be 52, DBIL will be 48 and I will be around 48 at time of travel. We do not have children and neither does DBIL...don't worry there are other grandchildren by our other siblings. My DMIL always goes too and she will be about 74. Her last trip with us was this past May. We typically stay in studios and I get one for us and one for the rents. Then when DBIL comes along he stays with DMIL. For the fall 2016 trip I am hoping to score a 2 br dedicated at Kidani so DBIL can have a real bed not a sofa and his own bathroom .

So like you we plan, we re-plan and then for the most part it works out. My parents went with us in Nov last year. They have never been to F&G before so that is the plan in May. My Mama is 71 and Daddy is 77. I don't know how long they will be able to travel with us so we make the most of it. Our last trip with DFIL was in 2004 when he was sick and he passed in 2005 so that trip we knew would be special...and it was.

I will enjoy following you on your trip planning and wish a memorable trip for you and your friends.

 

[catherines_mama]

Welcome and thank you! We are really excited. For me it's a chance to give a gift to a friend and share the magic.

We've been to WDW with both sets of parents. OCT 2007 DD13 (then 6) and I went with my parents to POR for a week. A) my stepfather has TBI and was impatient with everyone B) my mother had a recurrence of a gallbladder issue we thought was previously resolved in 2 surgeries C) it rained -a lot. We made the best of it all but it wasn't the most magical. I love my parents but they aren't open to "magic".

My husband and I met in Aug 07 and married in Sep 09. We were living in FL at the time and his parents live there still. They've taken each of the kids 1-on-1 before and last summer June 13 we did a week with them. They own Hilton. So they stayed there and we stayed OKW and every day Id tell them where we'd be when and they'd meet up with us. That way their laid back lifestyle didn't drive me insane. We had a great vacation though and I'm so glad we did it. I would like to try again with my parents but I don't know...

After this summer, we are taking off for 2 yrs, getting the pts back up and going bi-coastal. I REALLY want to do DL June 17. Make it 10 days and do DL and bits of Cali for the kids. If we are gonna spent $ on a plane tix, do it up. That's our next big trip after this one, but I know it'll kill not to have a closer one to plan. that and DD13 wants a Sweet 16 weekend at VGF with a girlfriend we'll see...

 

[catherines_mama]

WOW - where have I been. let me check under the nearby ROCK and see if my favorite Mickey afgan is under there. Geesh! Life has been INSANE.

8th grade - is nuts. busy crazy wow. But I've loved watching her grow up. She's doing amazing with it. School is wrapping up and testing is going well. She has a BOYFRIEND like, he's in 9th grade type boyfriend. But he's a young 9th grader and just turned 15 this week. He's a good kid, but they are busy kids. I need to paint my car yellow with checker board on it. Her travel volleyball season was great we had a blast traveling for it. Sadly, we attend the most competitive middle school and she did not make the school team. It was heart breaking. Thankfully - 80% of the school goes to the most competitive high school so she has a chance for JV in the Fall. Hard to believe it's time for High School. She's ready, I'm just nervous about the social aspect. New crop of girls and all of her friends but 2 are off to the other HS.

7th grade - If he'd only turn things in!!! he does it, he packs it, he even does it in CLASS and it doesn't get turned in!!! he kills me every day I'm like WHAT!!! especially right behind miss "OMG I HAVE AN A-, life is over!!!". Luckily he buckled down and kept his grades at C+ or higher and was able to try out for baseball. He made it. Here 6th graders can't play so it was his 1st year. He started about 1/2 the games and played in all but 2. Those were the games against the County Champs. We were 2nd in County. The County Champs.. OH - we even beat them - so don't get us started! It was a great season!

4th grade - she's honestly grown up the most this year. It's remarkably, not just physically but she's matured and "grown up". We are so proud of her and she got her 1st all A report card. She worked so hard for it! Life is simple with this one. The older 2 keep me spinning but she is just so happy to be simple and just chill. She loves to do simple sports or just play in the neighborhood.

Tina lost her dad a month ago. It was a tremendously hard 3 month road to the end and my heart broke for my best friend and her family along the way. All the way up to it we had no idea what the summer would bring, and I was okay with that. I knew if it was last minute I would still be able to make it the best vacation. Mixed emotions - they are able to join us. and everything worked out. I was able to add their tickets and add their FP+ to the same time as ours for everything. The kids (well most of them) still don't know we are all going together. Josh knows that they are going to Disney with friends this summer. No dummy that kid is knows Cat is going to Disney this summer and at lunch one day asked her.. when she was going. He knows when he's going and those 2 kind of figured it out. Sworn to secrecy they aren't talking about it anymore and won't tell anyone else.

Right now we are 10 days away and I cannot sit still. AT ALL. Every day is creeping by SO SLOWLY and all I want to do is LEAVE NOW! Josh has tryouts for summer baseball Friday 12th so we can't leave any sooner than we are - and it is driving me insane. Work has been very crazy and I've never needed a vacation more. Hubby says it's because I want to share this so badly with my friends.

 

[ToddyLu]

I am excited for you. We had a great May trip and Mama and Daddy have decided it is their favorite time to go...I hope you and your friends have a terrific time!!

 

[catherines_mama]

I am excited for you. We had a great May trip and Mama and Daddy have decided it is their favorite time to go...I hope you and your friends have a terrific time!!

Thank you. We were all at dinner tonight and DD10 was talking about how she never gets to sleep in. I laughed and said "no different on vacation" . No kids have no idea they are coming. But Tina gave me a look. I've already told her she can sleep in and meet us whenever she wanted. Lol. It was just funny.

Scary. The 2 boys cannot behave at a meal. This will be interesting. I see them being separated at Disney.

 

[catherines_mama]

So today we decided to tell the kids. We had planned last week to have lunch together, grill out relax and talk planning while we sent the kids out to play in traffic. While we were eating we decided ... lets tell them. It would help to get the boys.. mine at least, in the mind set that I need to act right. Trust me, forward planning helps him. They aren't bad they just get a bit too goofy. They get cute and funny goofy then take it a tad too far.

the 2 older ones had figured it out. They are in the same grade and talked at lunch and had it figured it. DS13 NO IDEA. While the 2 boys are 1 month apart, Josh's birthday is on one side of the grade line DS is on the other, so my DD14 and Josh are in 8th... ALMOST 9th and DS is in 7th. They have to share their friend.

They go off to get excited and play in the street while we figured out when we're leaving, who gets to ride with Tina & Dan.. they voted on DD14 because at 5:30AM she'll just go to sleep while DS13 will be like "LETS PARTY" and DD10 will just want to stay with me. At some point the boys get to ride together, I'm sure in my car with my DH so he can give a good GIBBS HEAD SMACK if needed.

We finally talked about the room and sleeping and I told them you DO NOT have to get up with us and do rope drop.. we'll take Josh but you can relax. It was fun to finally be able to talk about the PLAN!

Now the longest week of my life begins. This week is going to drag by - I know it!